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It shouldn’t be at all surprising to learn that the latest Gallup Poll shows that Americans trust in the Federal Government is low, low, low. In fact, it’s so low that “trust in many federal government institutions is now lower than it was during the Watergate era.”

“The poll indicates that the lack of trust seems to be directed primarily at the federal government,” Gallup concludes. “There has been no observable decline of public trust in state and local governments. Sixty-seven percent of Americans now express trust in their state government, matching the levels of 2004 and 2005. Sixty-nine percent also trust their local government, similar to what Gallup has found since 2001.”

Speaking of Watergate… Check out the excerpts of a speech by from Daniel Ellsberg, at the American University symposium on Sept. 20. Ellsberg, many will remember, is the former Defense Department analyst who leaked the secret Pentagon Papers. The excerpts of the speech can be found here.